By Ishaya Ibrahim
Many stuff have been said about Orji Uzor Kalu. They may be true or even false. One of which was that he, at the time, a student of the university of Maiduguri, impersonated the son of a stock-fish merchant and a major financier of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the Second Republic, Chief Nnanna Kalu.
The lie was said to have endeared him to the university’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Jibril Aminu, who at the time, was allegedly trying to be in the good books of the ruling party.
Jibril allegedly gave the young Kalu contract to furnish the university library in exchange for nice words to his so called father, Chief Kalu.
There was also the tale that Uzor Kalu once allegedly donated counterfeit currency at a function and that before the organisers could discover the fraud, he had taken the glory of a big donor and bolted away from the scene.
Ben Onyechere, a roommate of Uzor Kalu in their university days who was murdered by unknown gunmen in 2017, had told TheNiche in July 2014 of how the former Abia State governor played the spoiler for Alex Ekwueme’s presidential ambition in 2003.
At the time we interviewed late Onyechere, he was the special adviser on Public Communications to former Abia State Governor, now Senator Theodore Orji.
Onyechere said Ekwueme had almost won the primary but for Kalu’s covert support of Olusegun Obasanjo.
“At the night of the PDP convention (the event when the party’s presidential candidate was elected), Kalu hid himself upstairs in the Governor’s Lodge. He was wearing a sleeping gown and hid himself upstairs because he didn’t want to see us.
“This is because Atiku (Abubakar) had conceded and even supported Ekwueme under the arrangement that he would serve as vice president to Ekwueme. But we didn’t know that Kalu was working against Ekwueme.
“We didn’t know, until later. Some of the governors leaked the secret to Ekwueme. While we were acknowledging cheers from other people, we didn’t know that something was going on behind between Kalu and some Northern people who wanted Obasanjo,” Onyechere had told TheNiche while describing the antics of his old friend.
While some of those tales about Orji Kalu may be in the realm of speculation, one fact, however, remains certain now. He is to serve 12 years in prison for stealing N7.2 billion belonging to Abia State.
Observers have said that Uzor Kalu had his political career well planned, to replace Buhari in 2023.
He is from the South East, and the agitation for the next President favours the zone. By some design, he happens to be the highest ranking politician from the area in the APC.
He first ruled Abia State for eight years as governor, moved to the senate and became its Chief Whip, even though he was a first timer.
But Justice Mohammed Idris put a stop to his dream, at least until the verdict is upturned at the appeal.
“With due respect, I hold the view that the first defendant (Uzor Kalu) has failed in his obligation under the constitution; with due respect I hold that the defendant has acted contrary to his oath of office and he shall be held responsible.
“All of those who have aided and abated him, will also be brought to book.
“Let me remind those who hold positions of authority in this country, that they shall all be held responsible for their conducts when they act contrary to the law, the same law shall be applied.
“Let me also borrow from the words of the late Dele Giwa when he stated, ‘No evil deed shall go unpunished, any evil done by man shall be accounted for if not now, later,’ ” the judge ruled.
For Uzor Kalu, it was indeed a long walk to prison.
